Surviving and Thriving: What does it take to thrive after stroke?

The Peter Couche Foundation Chair, Stephen Couche (left) and Founder, Peter Couche (right)

Recovering from stroke can be a long and arduous journey, but for many, the opportunity to live a fulfilling life is worth the time it takes to undergo rehabilitation. The personal journey many people undertake in order to lead a fulfilling life will be a key focus at the 7th annual Stroke Forum on Monday, 14 November.

The Stroke Forum, being held at the National Wine Centre from 10am to 3pm, is being facilitated by the Peter Couche Foundation and aims to create a collaborative dialogue around the issues of stroke, its incidence, management, best practice and research.

With the theme of this year’s forum Surviving and Thriving after a stroke, Professor Susan Hillier, an expert in neuroscience and rehabilitation, will chair a discussion panel featuring stroke survivor Carol Homes and other highly-credentialed speakers in the field.

“Surviving and thriving after a stroke is really hard work, and you need determination and a committed support team around you,” Professor Hillier said.

“Carol suffered a stroke while undergoing surgery after an accident while backpacking around France when she was in her late teens, and she was told she would never walk again or talk again, and her family didn’t accept that.

“She and her family embarked on step-by-step rehab and they’ve never stopped. She sets new goals all the time – she had to learn to walk so she could walk down the aisle, she was non-verbal and now she can talk in brief sentences, she improved mobility because she had two children and she had to change nappies with one hand, and when her children started school she did speech therapy so she could read to them.  I call her the Eveready Bunny.”

Other guest speakers include Professor Tim Kleinig on tele stroke systems of care, Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Sharon McGowan and Dr Mardi Steere from the Royal Flying Doctor’s Service and Professor Benjamin Kile, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Adelaide.

The Stroke Forum’s keynote speakers will be Professor Geoffrey Donnan AO, Professor of Neurology, University of Melbourne, and Co-Chair of the Australian Stroke Alliance, and his colleague Professor Stephen Davis AO.

The Peter Couche Foundation was founded to progress stroke research and raise awareness of the debilitating brain injury. Founder, Peter Couche, suffered a stroke 30 years ago during the prime of his finance career, aged 42.

He has been confined to a wheelchair and unable to talk with negligible movement, living with “Locked-In Syndrome”, where his brain is sharp but he has very little physical ability.

Chair Stephen Couche said recovering from stroke was about not just surviving, but living a meaningful life, as his brother Peter has.

“We need to continue the conversation about stroke recovery and rehabilitation, and that includes funding ongoing research and raising awareness of the incidence in the community,” Mr Couche said.

“By supporting research through the Peter Couche Foundation, we hope to make a significant difference for many people, in the treatment and rehabilitation which follows a stroke, and in supporting them to live fulfilling lives.”